MEP: Europe continues strengthening its energy independence

Krišjānis Kariņš /flickr.com/epp group.

«The European Parliament has voiced strong support towards Europe’s energy independence and moving its energy policy away from Russia’s monopoly by investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy resources,» said MEP Krišjānis Kariņš after the vote on Clean Energy Act’s first reading in Strasbourg.

He says that the economy cannot develop without energy resources. «Resources are vital for factories, companies, transports, and households. In Europe, we are forced to import, mostly from Russia. But we can improve the situation. We can efficiently use energy resources we already have, including wind, solar, water, and biomass energy. This is vital for Europe,» Kariņš says, emphasizing the importance of the vote.

European Parliament reminds that Clean Energy Act is part of the so-called winter package, approval of which will be the final stage for European Energy Union’s legislation. The European Parliament supported three legislative projects in the first reading – on energy efficiency, on promotion of efficient use of renewable energy resources, and on European Energy Union’s management. Legislative drafts provide for increasing efficiency of used energy by 35% and increasing the proportion of renewable energy resources to 35% by 2030.